St. Brendan's Boys Primary School

St.Brendan’s PS                   School Calendar 2017/ 2018

School reopens                                                                           Thursday  31^st August 2017

Mid Term Break                                      Closing                      Friday 27^th   October 2017

Re-opening               Monday 6^th    November 2017

Christmas Holidays                               Closing                        Friday  22^nd December 2017                                                                                                                                                                            Re-opening                 Monday 8^th January 2018

Mid Term Break                                    Closed                         Thursday 15^th  February 2018

Closed                         Friday 16^th February 2018

St. Patricks day                                     Closed                         Monday 19^th March

* Easter Holidays                                  Closing                       Friday 23^rd March  2018

Re-opening                Monday 9^th  April 2018

May Bank Holiday weekend                  Closed                         Monday  7^th   May 2018

Closed                         Tuesday  8^th    May 2018

June Bank Holiday weekend                 Closed                         Friday 1^st   June 2018

Closed                         Monday 4^th   June 2018

Closed                         Tuesday 5^th  June 2018

Summer Holidays                                   Closing                                    Thursday 28^th  June 2018

* The Department of Education and skills has informed all schools that they may stay open for up to 3 days (During Easter Holidays) to make up for any time lost due to unforeseen closures if these occur during the school year 2016/2017. Eg: Weather

Kind regards,

____________

Niall Crofton (Principal)

We raised the Green flag for Bio-diversity at the end of June also. The committee spoke about all the work that had been carried out by pupils and teachers. The flag was raised by Mrs Lonergan and then all the boys got to get some ice-cream from the van. Thanks to our fantastic Parents Association for sponsoring the ice- creams which were very popular on the day!

School reopens for pupils on Thursday 31st August and we wish pupils and families a happy and safe summer.

26th April 2017

Dear Parents

BULLYING/CYBER-BULLYING: INTERVENTIONS & PREVENTION

As part of our ongoing Social, Personal and Health Education (SPHE) programme in our schools, we have invited Mrs. Marion Flanagan to address you and the pupils in 5th class on the topic of ‘Bullying/Cyber-Bullying: Interventions & Prevention’.
These final years in Primary school are a crucial time in your child’s emotional and personal development. They are developing their own personalities and require support and guidance to enhance their personal self-esteem and confidence. They need to be aware of the consequences of exclusion and the importance of acceptance of difference. Marion will address difficult parenting issues, the sometimes negative influence of social media and the importance of encouraging independent and critical thinking.
The presentation will discuss the area of Cyber-bullying and Internet Safety as well as the traditional means of bullying which are still rampant and how parents can support the school to intervene and prevent such behaviours.
We have chosen 5th class to take part in this evening as we feel the lessons to be learned from this presentation need to involve our senior pupils. We are giving them the ownership of the lessons to be learned from Marion’s talk. We are requesting that each child and a parent/guardian are in attendance on the evening which will include a questionnaire for pupils, a power-point presentation and some relevant handouts.
VENUE: St. Brendan’s Boys School – Hall
Date: Wednesday 3rd May 2017
Time: 7pm
Tea/Coffee and refreshments will be served on the night.
Please fill out the information on the attached sheet and return it with your son to school tomorrow.
Kind regards,
_________________________________________
Richelle Treacy H.S.C.L.

We are delighted to have our newly upgraded and decorated computer room officially opened. Huge thanks to Ian Murray for all his work in setting up the 20 desktops and flatscreens and getting it up and running with network and WIFI. Pictured are some pupils accepting cheque from PA Chairperson Caroline Boyd and PA Treasurer Lucy Franks. To our Parents Association who raised the money and all who support them last year we say a massive thank you– To the boys we say ; use carefully respect technology, be aware of its advantages and dangers and enjoy many years of learning !

Santa Visit: With the help of our Parents’ Association Santa visited St. Brendan’s. He arrived this year in his sleigh. He visited and had a cool selection box in his bag for all the classes.

Parents’ Association Christmas Draw
Our hard working Parents’ Association organised their Christmas Draw again this year in support of our school activities. With wonderful prizes on offer all tickets were sold . Draw took place on Tuesday 20th December with Mr Tommy Shaw ( Superhero!) pulling out the winning ticket. The 1st prize of a PS4 went to our very own Noah Lynskey from 2nd class—Congrats Noah !We would like to thank all the sponsors, organisers and supporters of this great initiative. It is always one of the highlights of the school year.

Full list of sponsors ( over 50 prizes) and winners can be viewed on PA facebook site

Christmas was a busy time for all classes with many Christmas Shows:
Juniors Infants performed a lovely Christmas play called “ A Miracle in Town”,First class presented “ A present for the baby”,3rd class performed “ It’s a baby”
4th class entertained all with play “ The magical Christmas Jigsaw” and last but not least-5th class presented a modern take on nativity with “ The 3 wise dudes”
Thanks to all staff involved for their creativity and hard work involved. All the boys enjoyed dressing up and performing cheered on by family and friends all week.

Advent Ceremonies ; In preparation for Christmas we held our Advent Ceremonies in the gym. The boys from 3rd / 2nd and 6th classes read the prayers sang the carols and lit the candles on the Advent Wreath. We also got to sing the 12 days.
School Crib: Many classes visited our school Crib and relived the Christmas story with their teachers and friends.

A highlight of the year for our older boys is when Sixth class visit the Community Care Nursing Unit and they sang Christmas Carols for the residents. 6th class with help from some of 2nd class also sang Christmas Carols as part of the Birr Christmas Lights ceremony. Thanks to Ms. Yvonne Ryan and Mr Kelly for providing the fab music on guitars.

PA Sponsored walk/ Cycle– This was a great activity for the boys and great fundraiser for the school. We last did this 2 years ago so now all boys in 5th/6th have had the opportunity of taking part in a biking activity with school. We took a crowd of 50 eager boys and they split into bikers and walkers and took off for 2 hours of exploring and activity in the park. The bikers each covered an impressive 12 km. Thanks to Keith Harte for transport of bikes, bike hire at Lough Boora for very reasonable rate and for Andrew Walsh support with provision of bus. Our classes JI-4th went to Birr Castle for their sponsored walk and each walked good distances with their teachers. Thanks to the staff for ensuring all went well and to Birr Castle for allowing us great access. Special thanks to PA for organising the events

Our fantastic PA managed to get in touch with Santa and he called to see the boys one day. Great excitement for all !

News
St Brendan’s Boys NS Pay Moving Tribute To Late Johnny ClearyThursday, 22 October 2015

St Brendan’s Boys NS Pay Moving Tribute To Late Johnny Cleary thumbnail
THE ‘unwavering dedication’ and commitment to hurling coaching at St Brendan’s Boys Primary School, Birr by the late Johnny Cleary was marked in a moving tribute at the school last week.
In a fitting tribute to the much loved local man, an oak tree was planted in the school’s grounds along with the erection of a beautifully inscribed plaque, which reads: ‘This oak was planted by the Board of Management and Parents Association on Thursday, October 15th, 2015 in recognition of Johnny Cleary (RIP) for his unwavering dedication to hurling coaching in St Brendan’s Boys School.’
Members of the extended Cleary family attended the very emotive and moving event and were joined by staff, students, members of the Parents Association, the Board of Management and the local community.
Addressing the crowd, Damien Dillon, of the Parents Association, explained that in July last, ‘we lost a fantastic GAA man here in Birr’ with Johnny’s passing. ‘He was also a fantastic man within the school and in tribute, we planted this lovely tree in his memory.’
Niall Crofton, School Principal, noted that the oak tree would be in the school forever and was also overlooking the school’s newly unveiled hurling wall, which was a fitting tribute to Johnny.

Thanks to the hard work of Damien Dillon (PA) we have been invited to take a group of boys (3rd-6th) to Dublin on Tuesday 7th October to be the audience to UNA’S DREAM TICKET. This is free and will be a once in a lifetime chance. In order to choose the lucky boys we ask all boys (3rd-6th) who are interested to write a letter (or draw a picture) of why the school should choose them—Why they want to go? Judging for places will take place on TUESDAY 30TH SEPT as we must have the list of names for the producer.. Good luck to all interested !